By Friedrich Schiller
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Translated by Peter Lloyd
Featuring Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter

Following runs at London's Donmar Warehouse and a stint in the West End, Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter return to the stage as Queen Mary and and Queen Elizabeth of England, respectively, in Peter Oswald's new, contemporary translation of Friedrich Schiller’s classic, Mary Stuart. Schiller's ability to mix private and public worlds and his profound understanding of realpolitik assures that what you get from this production is not just some obscure history lesson (one that takes great liberties with the truth), but a fast-moving narrative about the imprisoning effect of power.

Schiller's nineteenth century play is neither a neo-Shakespearean history play nor a tragedy. Although the play chronicles the last three days and the beheading of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who has been imprisoned for 18 years, it does not focus on issues of Tudor and Stuart succession to the throne of England or the hubris of the titular character. As written by Schiller, this play is a classical dialectic, with Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I, and their followers, representing differing perspectives on almost every important idea.

An eText of the full script is available from Project Gutenberg (translation by Joseph Mellish).

Reviews of the London Production:

"This starkly staged interpretation succeeds better than any that I have seen in laying bare the drama's structural cunning and psychological acumen."
(Paul Taylor in the Independent 4/5 stars)

"'An exhilarating production."
(Guardian 4/5 stars)

Relevant Classes:

English (Barnard) - The Romantic Era (C. Plotkin)
Germanic Languages - Enlightenment, Sturm Und Drang, and Classicism (K. Barry)
Germanic Languages - German Literature in a World Context (M. Anderson)
History - Colloquium in History of Women and Gender (A. Kessler-Harris)